Famous Classic Tales is an animated anthology television series featuring animated adaptations of classic children's stories which aired on CBS from 1970 to 1984. The series was produced by the Australian division of Hanna-Barbera and Air Programs International (API), also from Australia, but the thirtieth installment was animated by Ruby-Spears Enterprises.
Overview Famous Classic Tales was broadcast on CBS and distributed by Kids Klassics Home Video and Storybook World. It had cartoons from Sydney-based API's Family Classic Tales. Featured cartoons included adaptions of classic literature such as Gulliver's Travels, Treasure Island, Black Beauty, Moby-Dick, and many others.
The creation of a series of animated features based on classic children's stories was conceived by Jack Thinnes, Media Director at Sive Advertising in Cincinnati, Ohio. The series was created for a Sive client, toy manufacturer Kenner Products, and each program was fully sponsored by Kenner on CBS Television Network on Sunday, late afternoon or early evening, during the prime toy selling season before Christmas. In 1983, the show was billed as Kenner Family Classics.
The idea to use classic children's books sprang from Thinnes' viewing of a two-minute demo of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, which was produced by Walter J. Hucker's studio, Air Programs International (API), of Sydney, Australia. API was acquired by Hanna-Barbera in 1972 after Thinnes introduced the owners of the studios to one another. After the series ran on CBS for nearly ten years, it was moved into local syndication by Sive's syndication department. However, their adaptation of A Christmas Carol was such a favorite that it continued to run on the network for fifteen years.Famous Classic Tales.
A similar series, Festival of Family Classics, was produced by Rankin/Bass and aired in syndication in 1972–1973.
Episode list Nº Title Airdate Director(s) Production Synopsis 1 Tales of Washington Irving November 1, 1970 Zoran Janjic Air Programs International 2 A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court November 26, 1970 Zoran Janjic Air Programs International 3 A Christmas Carol December 13, 1970 Zoran Janjic Air Programs International 4 The Legend of Robin Hood November 14, 1971 Zoran Janjic Air Programs International 5 Treasure Island November 28, 1971 Zoran Janjic Air Programs International 6 Travels of Marco Polo January 1, 1972 Leif Gram Air Programs International 7 Robinson Crusoe November 23, 1972 Leif Gram Air Programs International 8 The Prince and the Pauper November 26, 1972 Chris Cuddington Air Programs International 9 The Count of Monte Cristo September 23, 1973 William Hanna, Joseph Barbera Hanna-Barbera Pty, Ltd. A young sailor named Edmond Dantès gets falsey accused of treason by the royal prosecutor Gérard de Villefort. After escaping from Château d'If, Edmond discovers a treasure that makes him a wealthy nobleman under the alias of the Count of Monte Cristo as he plans revenge on those of framed him. 10 Kidnapped October 22, 1973 Leif Gram Air Programs International 11 The Swiss Family Robinson October 28, 1973 Leif Gram Air Programs International 12 Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas November 22, 1973 William Hanna, Joseph Barbera Hanna-Barbera Pty, Ltd. Captain Nemo meets a French scientist named Professor Arronax and a Canadian harpooner named Ned Land as he takes them onto his submarine called the Nautilus. 13 The Three Musketeers November 23, 1973 William Hanna, Joseph Barbera Hanna-Barbera Pty, Ltd. d'Artagnan works with the Three Musketeers Athos, Porthos, and Aramis to foil the plans of Cardinal Richelieu. 14 The Black Arrow December 2, 1973 Leif Gram Air Programs International 15 The Gentlemen of Titipu January 15, 1974 Leif Gram Air Programs International 16 Moby-Dick January 1, 1975 Richard Slapczynski Air Programs International 17 The Mysterious Island November 15, 1975 Leif Gram Air Programs International 18 The Last of the Mohicans November 27, 1975 Charles A. Nichols Hanna-Barbera Pty, Ltd. During the French and Indian War, a scout named Natty Bumpo (voiced by Mike Road) befriends the last chief of the Mohicans named Chingachgook (portrayed by John Doucette) and his fellow Mohican Uncas (voiced by Casey Kasem) while assisting in transporting Colonel Monro's daughters Alice (voiced by Kristina Holland) and Cora (voiced by Joan Van Ark), and Major Duncan Heyward (voiced by Paul Hecht) to Fort Henry where Monro (voiced by John Stephenson) is stationed. 19 Ivanhoe November 27, 1975 Leif Gram Air Programs International 20 From the Earth to the Moon January 1, 1976 Richard Slapczynski Air Programs International 21 Off on a Comet January 1, 1976 Richard Slapczynski Air Programs International 22 Master of the World October 23, 1976 Leif Gram Air Programs International 23 Davy Crockett on the Mississippi November 20, 1976 Charles A. Nichols Hanna-Barbera Pty, Ltd. Davy Crockett (voiced by Ned Wilson) and his bear companion Honeysuckle (vocal effects provided by Michael Bell) meet a boy named Matt Henry (portrayed by Randy Gray). They get transported on the Mississippi River by Mike Fink (voiced by Ron Feinberg) as they encounter the Shawnee led by the chief' son Running Wolf (voiced by Kip Niven), a family of settlers (portrayed by Michael Bell and Patricia Parris), General Andrew Jackson (voiced by John Stephenson), and the river pirate Sloan (voiced by John Stephenson) and his sons Jake (voiced by Kip Niven) and Pete (voiced by Michael Bell). 24 A Journey to the Center of the Earth November 13, 1977 Richard Slapczynski Air Programs International 25 Five Weeks in a Balloon November 24, 1977 Chris Cuddington Hanna-Barbera Pty, Ltd. Dr. Samuel Ferguson, Joe, and Richard Kennedy travel across Africa in a hot air balloon. 26 Black Beauty October 28, 1978 Chris Cuddington Hanna-Barbera Pty, Ltd. A black horse named Black Beauty (voiced by Alan Young) endures the many hardships in life. 27 Gulliver's Travels November 18, 1979 Chris Cuddington Hanna-Barbera Pty, Ltd. A sailor named Gulliver (voiced by Ross Martin) ends up washed up on the island of Lilliput where he befriends a race of tiny people called Liliputians (voiced by Don Messick and Julie Bennett) and gets caught up in their war with Belfuscu. Then he arrives on Brobdingnag which is inhabited by giants (voiced by Julie Bennett, Regis Cordic, John Stephenson, and Janet Waldo). 28 The Adventures of Sinbad November 23, 1979 Richard Slapczynski Air Programs International 29 Daniel Boone November 27, 1981 Geoff Collins Hanna-Barbera Pty, Ltd. 30 Beauty and the Beast November 25, 1983 Rudy Larriva Ruby-Spears Enterprises To save the life of her father (voiced by Stacy Keach Sr.), a young girl (voiced by Janet Waldo) agrees to live with a beast (voiced by Robert Ridgely) that lives in the castle he was staying the night in. 31 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn November 23, 1984 Paul McAdam Air Programs International
Home video release Several of the Famous Classic Tales specials were released on VHS by Worldvision Home Video, GoodTimes Entertainment, Fox Lorber, Hanna-Barbera Home Video and Turner Home Entertainment. Several other stories made it to DVD afterwards, including a 2007 release from Southern Star through Koch Vision titled Hanna-Barbera Storybook Favorites which featured The Last of the Mohicans, Black Beauty and Gulliver's Travels. All of these are now out of print.
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